Junkhead

Friends & Family

**FIRST OFF**

This might suck major ass. I'm not sure. I've already written A LOT of shit in here that correlates with my own struggles with drug addiction...but family? Oh god lol. Don't even get me started. It's kind of A MAJOR FUCKING TRIGGER FOR ME considering due to my own addiction, I really screwed my family over. Like bad.

Any who, enough about my lame ass. Let's get on with sexy ass rock stars & all that jazzzzzz

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"Oh my gosh, Layne!" His mother, Nancy, gushed. She immediately ran over to him & wrapped her arms tight around his broad shoulders.

Layne laughed. "Geeze, Ma," he moaned. His eyes widened, glancing over at Briana. She had her hand over her mouth trying her best not to laugh. "I can't breathe..." He squeaked.

His older sister, Liz, broke down in laughter. Briana joined in, her chest burning when Nancy finally pulled away from Layne. Tears were streaming down his mother's face.

"You look wonderful," Nancy croaked, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

Layne's eyes watered, his mind wandering back to the last time he had seen her. It was a week before he found Nicky strung out on the streets after playing that gig. He shot up with Mike just a half an hour before she showed up on his doorstep. So many lies. So much bullshit spewing from him about his supposed 'recovery'.

"Layne, come sit down & have coffee with us?" Briana asked from the dining room table.

He snapped out of his thoughts. When he went to slick back his grown-out hair, he felt the wetness under his eyes. He didn't even realize he was just standing there, crying...

He analyzed how natural the three of the women looked, sitting together at the table. It all seemed right. Like Briana actually belonged.

"I know you've probably already heard a lot about me," Briana said to the two women, a warm smile on her face. "But we've never actually met, so...yeah, I'm Briana. You can call me Bre though."

"Wow, Layne," Liz piped up. She grinned deviously, amused by how he continued to just stand out in the kitchen dumbly. "How in the heck did you convince HER to even talk to you?! She's gorgeous."

Layne laughed. "Shut up," he spat. He winked at his sister, finally taking a seat next to Briana. He wrapped his arm around her, catching a look from her when she noticed him thumping his leg. She knew that was an sign that he was nervous as heck.

"So..." Nancy started, noticing the anxiety steaming off her son. She placed her hand on his & caught a glimpse of sadness in his eye when he peered back at her. "How have you been, honey? You look amazing..."

Layne wetted his lips, now tapping his fingers on the table. "I've been good," he muttered. He glanced back over at Briana, his eyes begging at her to break the awkwardness.

She didn't step in this time.

He sighed, irritated. "I was full of shit when I last saw you, mom," he confessed. He felt his heart sink.

Nancy shared a look with Liz. She turned back to him with her brow raised. "Did you actually think you had us fooled?"

Layne's eyes widened. He fidgeted with his plain black t-shirt. Before he could say anything in response, Liz stepped in.

"I mean, you hooked up with a meth head you met in rehab," his sister blurted. She eyed Layne's scarred arms. "And I saw fresh puncture wounds on you..."

Layne's head snapped over at her. "You noticed that?!"

Liz rolled her eyes. "Mom and I could tell that you & Mike were high as fuck, Layne. Are you kidding me?"

Nancy shot a look at her daughter. "Elizabeth."

She shrugged at her, her eyebrows raised. "Shouldn't we be honest with him, mom? His previous chemical dependency counselor stated that we should project honesty in front of him." She glared back at Layne. "Make it easier for him to quit bullshitting."

Layne sniffled back a tear. "I'm not going to bullshit you guys anymore," he mumbled shakily. "Can't even live with the fact that I lied to you for over 10 years... I don't have the emotional strength to continue to do that to you." He bit his lip & wiped more tears from his eyes. A smirk creased his face when he felt Briana rub his shoulder in support. "Bre has helped me stay clean for almost 5 months now. And I plan on staying clean. I don't ever want to go back to the way I was, it wasn't right. And it was disgusting."

Liz & Nancy just sat there in silence. Their eyes were wide. Nancy had tears streaming down her face, but she didn't look sad. She looked like her prayer had finally been answered.

Layne rubbed his temples & squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't want to hurt you guys again," he whimpered. He tugged up the collar of his shirt, trying his best to stop the tears. "I want you both to know that I love you." He choked back a sob, his head now in his hands. "I fucking love you guys so much. I hope you know I always have. And I'm so fucking sorry for scaring you. For worrying you all those times I fucking ODed. For the times Demri & I locked ourselves up in random motels to use, not answering your phone calls. For allowing myself to get so bad to the point of actual death. I've vowed to myself that I will never hurt my own family like this again--"

"Layne," his mother interrupted. She was up from her seat. She wrapped her arms back around him, sobbing with him. "I'm just so relieved that it's over. It was a nightmare watching you do this to yourself. I'm so relieved to see that you're finally HAPPY."

Liz started crying as she got up to hug her brother. "I thought you were as good as dead the last time I saw you," she squeaked.

"I thought I was good as dead, too," he muttered. He looked up at everyone when they finally let go of him. He peaked over at Briana, noticing she was crying, too. "You okay, Bre?"

"I really need a cigarette," she sniffled. She broke out laughing with Nancy & Liz.

"Me too," Liz agreed, yanking out her pack.

They all went out to the patio & smoked & talked about everything & anything. Nancy wouldn't keep her eyes off her son. She was so proud to see that he seemed to finally have the strength to fight his own illness.

They laughed & reminisced on funny childhood memories. Nancy & Liz took on to Briana fairly quickly. They couldn't believe that Layne had finally found a real life partner. Someone that was actually good for him.

It began to get dark out, so they all went back into the house. Nancy had her arm wrapped around Layne's shoulders. A huge prideful grin was tugged on her aged, yet still beautiful, face.

"Are you still going to be apart of Alice in Chains?" Liz asked. They were all in the living room, lounging on the recliners near their tube TV. Her eyes widened when she noticed her brother's face twist uncomfortably. "Sorry, shouldn't have asked... Just curious considering you & Bre are moving out of state."

Layne shrugged. "Well. I still have to think about it--"

He was cut off by the sound of the telephone ringing.

Briana dodged between the furniture & picked up the phone. "Hello?" She asked, twirling the cord around. Her eyes widened, them dropping on Layne.

"What?" Layne asked, suddenly anxious.

Briana bit her lip.

"What is it, Bre?!" Layne shrieked.

She sighed, her eyes bleeding with torment. "It's Mike."